'MNF' Skit Garners Powell's Disappointment

FCC Chairman Michael Powell told CNBC he thought ABC's new Monday Night Football introduction "disappointing. I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud." Disney-owned ABC Sports has apologized for the material, which generated complaints to the network and to the commission. The opening featured an actress who drops h

FCC Chairman Michael Powell told CNBC he thought ABC's new Monday Night Football introduction "disappointing. I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud."

Disney-owned ABC Sports has apologized for the material, which generated complaints to the network and to the commission.

The opening featured an actress who drops her towel and jumps naked into the arms of Philadelphia Eagles player Terrell Owens. The actress was only shown from behind and above the waist after dropping the towel.

It might have been naughty, but it wasn't indecent. The "dropped towel" bit on a Monday Night Football introduction was sexually suggestive and titillating, the FCC has decided, but not indecent. After receiving several complaints about the Nov. 15 segment, the agency reviewed the broadcast involving an exchange betw

Time magazine is reporting that FCC Chairman Michael Powell is ready to move on and that three of his four top aides are putting out job feelers. The magazine quotes industry sources as saying Powell has told confidants he'd like to leave the commission by fall. Powell denies the report, according to the publication.

Speaking to the Newspaper Association of America, FCC Chairman Michael Powell hinted that the cross-ownership ban might change. Public interest groups that oppose dropping or relaxing the ban believe there will be a rush to consolidate newspapers and TV stations if restrictions are lifted. Without specifically mentio

FCC Chairman Michael Powell is telling several media outlets he intends to remain at the agency. Powell told Reuters he would stay until the end of the president's administration. He said he has many projects ahead, especially the deployment of broadband. There has been much speculation the chairman is ready to leave g

Republican FCC Chairman Michael Powell has again said he's not leaving his post anytime soon. Seeking to dampen speculation he plans to leave his post to either run for public office or go to the private sector, Powell told Reuters this week, "I'm happy where I am." When asked about his plans earlier in a session with

With no shortage of finger-pointing among industries related to digital TV, FCC Chairman Michael Powell is on a search for information that could help spot the weak links and form policy for the remainder of the digital transition. In a letter to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), Powell said he

FCC Chairman Michael Powell has sent a letter to Capitol Hill objecting to legislation that would prohibit a certain spectrum auction involving Northpoint. In a letter to House Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Powell pointed out that prohibiting the auction would depr

FCC Chairman Michael Powell has appointed Bryan Tramont as FCC Chief of Staff, replacing Marsha MacBride who has resigned. Currently serving as Powell's Senior Legal Advisor, Tramont was also senior legal advisor to commissioners Kathleen Abernathy and Harold Furchtgott-Roth. Before joining the FCC, he was an attorney